Emergency Services to Receive Callers' Location

Cell-phone operators will now be required to provide the location of callers who dial 112 for emergency services.

An amendment to a bill backed by the Communications and Press Ministry states that network operators should automatically inform the emergency services where 112 calls are made from to facilitate the work of rescue personnel, Vedomosti reported Monday.

This means that the caller, using either a cell phone or land line, will not have to worry about providing exact details of their location.

Mobile operators already register the location of all calls made via their network and share the information with police upon request. This process should now become automatic, according the ministry.

The fact that the caller does not actually give permission for their location to be shared is in line with practice in other countries, ministry spokeswoman Yekaterina Osadachaya said.